By Kurt L. Krieger and Nora C. Price
On March 21, 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") approved new rules for managing vegetation along power line rights of way. The purpose of the approved modifications to existing electric...

By Steven M. Siros, Partner, Jenner & Block
A recent study by the Colorado School of Public Health has linked hydraulic fracturing to elevated levels of petroleum hydrocarbons in the air near drilling sites. The study, to be published in Science...

Leda Huta, Executive Director, Endangered Species Coalition
If you were to choose a route through which to move toxic, highly corrosive, sludgy crude oil, would you place it on the same narrow corridor used by one of the world's most endangered...

ENERGY: The OHIO House and Senate approve SB 315, which requires greater disclosure of chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, process to extract natural gas from underground shale deposits. The measure also requires water sampling within...

By Steven M. Siros, Partner, Jenner & Block
On December 8, 2011, the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("U.S. EPA") issued a draft report noting a need for the collection of more baseline data, greater transparency on the...

By Katerina E. Milenkovski , Of Counsel, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
During the past several months, Ohio EPA has been working to determine what, if any, air pollution requirements apply to well-site operations in the oil and gas industry - in particular...

On July 22, 2011, the Governor's Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission presented its final Report with numerous recommendations for environmental policy, legislative and regulatory reforms to address development of the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania...

By Patrick Greissing, Alston & Bird LLP
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been deemed a technology that can help fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; however, it has had trouble getting off the ground. The cost of CCS,...

Prior posts have discussed various aspects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and its impact on the biota of the Gulf.
Bioremediation has several goals. First, one uses nature to remediate contamination, saving significant sums. Second, the "food"...

EPA issued final guidance concerning environmental permitting regulations for mountaintop mining in Appalachia, maintaining the strengthened requirements it set out in the earlier interim guidance that was released on April 1, 2010.
A summary of the...

EPA has released rule changes that will require oil and gas drillers that use hydraulic fracturing to use new or improved processes and equipment in an attempt to reduce the level of volatile organic compounds (VOC's) and other air pollutants emitted...

By J. Cullen Howe, Environmental Law Specialist, Arnold & Porter LLP
Hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a process used by the oil and gas industry for more than 60 years, has attracted the national spotlight. By injecting fluids and other materials...

KASICH CONTINUES PUSH FOR DRILLING TAX: Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) renewed his call to impose steeper oil and gas drilling taxes on out-of-state oil companies in order to pay for an income tax cut for Buckeye State residents, telling reporters, "The...

On June 6, 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its latest comments and rating on the State Department's Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) for the Keystone XL project, a major new oil pipeline being developed...

NEW ORLEANS - (Mealey's) The federal judge in Louisiana presiding over litigation stemming from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and ensuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico held Feb. 22 that BP PLC and Andarko Petroleum Co. are liable...

My partner Dean Pappas and I recently had an article published by Best's Review (February 2012) that looks at the potential risks that arise from hydrofracking operations, and the extent to which a typical homeowner's insurance policy covers the...

Prior posts have noted groundwater contamination associated with natural gas produced from deep shale deposits by hydraulic fracturing. A study by researchers (with no industry contributions) concludes that such pollution results not from liquids pumped...

By William A. Ruskin
A Lone Pine Order is an innovative judicial case management tool that requires toxic tort plaintiffs to produce credible expert evidence to support their theory of causation (or another key component of plaintiffs' claim)...

ENVIRONMENT
The ILLINOIS Senate approves HB 4119, which would ban the sale or possession of shark fins, a delicacy often used in Chinese cooking. The measure moves to Gov. Pat Quinn (D) for review (QUAD-CITY TIMES [DAVENPORT]). • VERMONT Gov...

By Marc Karell, P.E., CEM, Principal, Climate Change & Environmental Services, LLC
While the focus of the environmental controversy concerning hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") has been the alleged contamination of aquifers and other drinking...

By Danielle Sugarman, Fellow, Center for Climate Change, Columbia Law School
On March 15, 2012, the Supreme Court of Mississippi handed down its decision in Sierra Club v. Mississippi Public Service Commission and Mississippi Power Company, Inc...